Hope in Waiting

I love to wait! I love to wait in line at the DMV with two small children. I love it when I am on hold. I love to wait at a stop light and I especially love to wait in traffic. How about you? Do you enjoy waiting? No! I didn’t think so. Ok, ok, ok, the truth be known, I hate waiting. I don’t have the patience to wait. In fact, I come from a long line of patience deficient people. But waiting is part of our lives; it’s one of those joyless things that we do. Every day we wait for something and this time of year is no exception. This time, though, we’re waiting for something or rather Someone awesome.

Currently we are in the season of Advent and, by definition, Advent is a season of waiting. It is a time of happiness, celebration, and hopeful anticipation of the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ, who was born in a stable and changed the world forever.
After the birth of Jesus, we are told that he was presented at the temple. We are also told of a man named Simeon. Simeon was a righteous and devout man and Simeon had been waiting. He had been “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). Now consolation means to receive comfort by a person after a loss or disappointment. So, are you experiencing some kind of loss in your life right now? How about disappointment? Maybe you recently lost a loved one or maybe you have a prodigal child. Maybe your marriage is falling apart. Perhaps you didn’t get that promotion at work. For some of you, maybe it’s that sin you keep going back to. You see, we all experience loss and disappointment in different ways, and what we need to think about is how we find hope for what we’re going through.

Well, my friend, we find our hope in waiting. We find our hope in the One who was born in a stable and changed the world forever. In this season of waiting, what loss are you experiencing; what disappointments do you have that are bringing you down? What is it you’re waiting for?

"You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head." Psalm 139:5